What I Longed For
by Aerith The Evenstar
Summary: Sequal to Final Fantasy VII The Return Of The Cetra. 3 years have past since Tori came back home. What happens when a person on a motorcycle passes her on her way home from school? CloudxOC. rating may go up in later chapters.
1. Thinking Of You

ATE: Here's the Sequal for Final Fantasy VII The Return Of The Cetra. If you read the prequal first then you'll understand what's happening in this story, if not, stop where you are and read the prequal before continuing. Enjoy. :)

Declaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. I only own Tori, her family, and Amanda.

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**What I Longed For**

Chapter 1

Thinking Of You

Here I am sitting quietly in my desk in class, waiting for the bell to ring so I can go home. You may or may not know who I am, but I'm willing enough to tell you just that.

My name is Victoria Stam, but I like to be called Tori for short. I'm a girl that's thin and has pale skin that has only a little hind of me being outside. I have wavy dirty blonde hair that is now almost halfway to my knees and has started to faintly look darker now. My eyes are the color blue.

You're probably wondering why I'm sitting in my desk quietly while my friends are talking to each other near me. Ever since I came back, I hardly talked as much as I used to and back then I was a chatterbox. The reason why was because I was forcibly brought back here and away from the man I loved and still do. His name was Cloud Strife.

That's right, I was in the world of Final Fantasy VII, but it wasn't just a video game, I was proven otherwise by Cloud himself when I first met him.

While I was there I learned that I was the reincarnation of Aerith. And it was there that Cloud told me that he was in love with me. I miss him so much.

After I defeated Sephiroth, I was brought back here. I found that I still had the white materia and the sword that Cloud had gotten me and taught me how to use. But now the only use I had for it was to serve as a reminder for all the precious memories of all the times when Cloud and I were together.

I then heard the bell ring and I left the classroom and went outside of the school building to walk home.

I knew that no one was going to be home to greet me once I got home. Both my parents are at work and won't be home until late tonight, my older sister Ashleigh was at college and lived in one of the dorms there, and my little sister Jackie was still in school with only 6 periods of class left.

I was only just a few yards away when my friend, Amanda, came up to me.

"Hey, Tori." She said. "Do you want to hang out?"

"No. I'm sorry." I said.

"What's wrong with you? Ever since you came back, you've been more quiet than usual, you always want to be alone, and you always look like you ped died."

"Actually, my pet died last week, remember?" I said.

"Well, you know what I mean. You've been acting like a loner and a emo, minus the crying."

"Amanda. Could you just leave me alone? I'm really not in the mood right now." I said.

"Oh, okay. I'll just go home then."

Amanda then left me. What she said was true, except for the 'minus the crying' part. Secretly, I would cry myself to sleep every night, with thoughts of Cloud. No matter how much I tried, I was always thinking of Cloud.

_Even though we might be pulled away from each other, we will always meet again._

"_That was what you told me right before I left you, Cloud._" I thought.

It has been three years since I last saw Cloud, and I'm already 19. Today I had just graduated from high school.

Cloudm I sometimes wonder what you're doing everyday without me. Are you just delivering packages for the 'Strife Delivery Service'? Did you forget me and decided to move on? Or are you being like me and moping all the time? I sometimes wonder...

Just then I heard the sound of a motorcycle and turned around in time to see it ride past me. I couldn't really see who was on it but there was a few characteristics that I noticed. The person had blonde hair and wore black. I watched as it rode down the street in the direction that my home was.

Wait a minute! Blonde hair and wearing black? Could it be...could it be you...Cloud?

"_Why am I standing around here for?_" I thought. "_I should be getting home._"

I started running home as fast as I could, and I was only halfway there. I'm delirious to the point that I wouldn't let anything stop me from seeing if the person on the motorcycle was who I thought it was.

As soon as I was entering the cul-de-sac, the person on the motorcycle was just coming into the driveway of my home and parking. I urged my body to run faster to the mysterious person who was now getting off their vehicle. I knew that I was getting tired but I wasn't going to let my weariness stop me now.

They were starting to walk to the front door. I was halfway down the cul-de-sac to my house. Come on! I need to hurry! If the person rung the doorbell and saw that no one was going to answer, they might leave.

They were now at the door and I was a few feet away from the driveway. I just might make it!

"_Come on! I'm almost there! Just a few more feet!_" I thought.

But I never made it. I was so tired that I collapsed in the driveway a foot away from the motorcycle. I was panting as I wated the person's hand reach for the doorbell.

"STOP!" I desperately cried out as tears rapidly fell from me face.

I was now crying uncontrollably and I was hoping beyond hope that this was who I thought it wa.

I watched through my now blurry eyes as the person turned around to face me. I saw that they were wearing sunglasses, but I couldn't make out what they were wearing, only the color black. I then let my head hang to hide the tears that were falling down my face.

"Why?! Why didn' you see me walking as you drove by? Are you even who I'm talking about about?!" I yelled as I banged my fist into the concrete ground. I knew that my fist was getting scraped starting to bleed, but I didn't care at all right now.

I couldn't take it anymore! All the feelings I had kept inside me seemed to erupt all at the same time. I was still crying uncontrollably to the point that my chest was heaving for air.

I didn't care if this person wasn't who I thought it was and that I might seem like a total crybaby at the moment. I know I may sound selfish now, but all I wanted was to see Cloud again.

As I continued to cry, I didn't take notice of the sound of the person approaching me as I fail to control my emotions.

Before I knew it. I felt his arms wrap around my crying for, and holding me in a comforting embrace. I leaned in closer and I felt the same body warmth that was like the one from my lover. I found out that it was a man since I smelled cologne on him. I knew that my tears were making his shirt wet, but he didn't seem to mind.

I then felt his fingers combing through my hair and it reminded me of Cloud when he did that to me. I soon stopped crying after a few mintues of this man repeating his actions during my break down. Whoever he was, he certainly knew how to calm me down.

When I felt that I was ready, I looked up at the man and saw a familiar face.

I already said that he was wearing sunglasses and black clothes, but his facial appearance I didn't quite get to until now. He had blonde spiky hair and on his left ear was a familiar silver earring.

When I finally found my voice, I then asked the question that had been on my mind since I first saw him drive past me today.

"A...a-are you...C-Cloud? I-is it...really you?" I asked as best as I could with the lack of air that I needed. Though I needed to get oxygen, I really needed to voice my question even more.

I waited for my answer and I got it only seconds later. He nodded.

I soon started crying again, but this time crying tears of joy. Cloud then helped me to my feet, but soon after doing so, I wrapped my arms around his waist. I then felt his arms wrap around me.

"Cloud... I can't believe it's you. I hoped and waited all the time to see you again. I missed you." I said.

"I missed you too." Said Cloud.

"Let's go inside."

I walked up to the front door , got out my house key, and opened the door. I walked inside and Cloud followed.

"It all looks the same..." He said.

"Not much has changed since you were last here."

"You're wrong. Some things have changed."

I looked at him with confusion.

"Really? Like what?" I asked.

"Like you."

"Well...I guess that's true. It's been 3 years since I last saw you. But you haven't changed a bit. You still look the same as when I last saw you."

"In my world, it's been 3 months since I last saw you."

"What? The last time I was there, I was 16. But I'm 19 now. You're still 23, right?"

Cloud nodded.

"Maybe there's a time difference between our worlds."

I then walked into the living room and sat on the couch to think. As I did this, I didn't notice that Cloud sat next to me until his arms wrapped around me, pulling me close to him, and causing me to lay on top of him on the couch.

"Cloud? What are you doing." I asked.

"We haven't done this in a while, or in your case, a long time." He said.

"True. Ever since I left you, I distance myself from my friends and family and every night I'd cry myself to sleep. I could never stop thinking about you." I said. "But now, we're together again, just like before."

I turned around so I was facing Cloud and saw that he still had his sunglasses on. I pulled them off with my hands and placed them on the little table near us. I then gazed at his beautiful blue eyes.

I was so entranced by them that I didn't noticed that Cloud's face was only inches away from mine. I found out too late when we were both locked in a kiss. His tongue was pushing on my lips asking for entrance. I gladly let him have what he wanted and soon our tongue were dancing in a passionate kiss. I now know that this isn't a dream and that Cloud is really with me.

After awhile we broke apart and looked at each other.

"You're tired." Said Cloud.

"No I'm not." I said while shaking y head. "I'm not tired one bit."

"I can tell you're tired. You were tired when I saw you on the ground outside crying."

"I already told you, I'm not tired."

"You're not a really good liar."

He caught me for lying. Well, I knew how stubborn he could be at time, and right he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

He then got up and picked my up bridal style.

"Where is your room?" He asked.

"Upstairs. It's the first door to the right." I answered.

Cloud started carrying me up the stairs and he soon found my room. Well, it wasn't that hard to find since it had a sign saying 'Tori's Room' hanging on it.

Cloud enter my room with me, closing the door behind him. After doing so he approached my bed and placed me on it. But I was surprised when he got on my bed and was laying to my right. True that my bed could fit two people in it and it was also very comfortable, but I just didn't expect him to lay with me. Maybe Cloud knew how I was desperate to be with him when I saw me crying outside. That would explain it.

I then felt Cloud's arms wrap around me again and pulled me to him. I snuggled up to him and laid my head on his chest. I felt warm because of his body warmth and I was comfortable in the position I was in. If only it could last forever.

I soon started to get sleepy and looked up to see that it was the same for Cloud. I then closed my eyes and was fast asleep.

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ATE: I know it started out sad but it got better right? Please Review. I worked really hard on this and I want to know if you all like it. 


	2. Cloud Meets Jackie

ATE: This chapter is the only one that's going to have another oc point of view besides the Tori. I got three reviews for the first chapter and I give my thanks to all of them.

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Chapter 2

Cloud Meets Jackie

Jackie's POV

Man! School seemed to last _forever_. I'm so glad to be home now. I pretty much got out of school at 5:00 today, like I always do. I need to stop complaining.

Wait a minute! Where's Tori? True that I saw a huge familiar looking motorcycle in our driveway but that's not enough to tell me _who_ it belonged to. Well anyways, back to wondering where my older sister was.

I walked into the living room, but I didn't see her there. But what I did see was a pair of sunglasses on the little table near the couch. These don't look like Tori's, but look like they would fit on a guy's face. Maybe she left them here. I might as well take them back to her room.

I then walked upstairs. When I got to Tori's room, I opened the door, only to see something that surprised me. Laying on the bed was not only my older sister, but a guy as well. That would explain the sunglasses.

I quietly walked inside and placed the sunglasses on the nightstand near Tori. I was about to walk out, but I was curious to see who mystery boy was, so I walked over to the left side of Tori's bed. I saw that it was Cloud Strife.

Tori was right about him looking like he did in Advent Children. Yes, I've seen it because Tori had me watch it with her when she asked dad to rent it, which he said to do before actually buying her own copy.

If I were to say which person knew more about Final Fantasy VII out of the both of us, I'd have to say Tori goes into it 100. I only knew what they showed or told you in the movie, and trust me, that wasn't a lot. I also knew about the characters and I remember when I used to call Cloud the name Sky. Tori had to correct me every time so I got it memorized that it wasn't Sky, but Cloud. (AN: Axel's famous quote, 'got it memorized?')

I remember when Tori came back that she told the whole family that she fell in love with Cloud. I can't blame her about liking him, he's cute.

I was just about to leave from where I was standing to go outside, but I felt someone grab my hand. I turned around and saw that Cloud was awake.

"Who are you?" He asked, his eyes seemed to glow in the dark (or maybe they did) and they held the look of thinking me to be suspicous.

"I'm Jackie. Tori's little sister." I answered. "You're Cloud, right?"

He simply nodded.

"She's told me, along with the rest of the family, about you."

"So you're her little sister." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Are you two an item?" I asked.

Even though I couldn't tell, I had an idea that Cloud was blushing.

"A-an item?" He asked.

"You do love her, right."

"Yeah."

"Well, you two should get married."

"M-married?"

"Yep. I think you two would make a good couple."

I then left the room closing the door, and went to mine.

Cloud's POV

Once Jackie left, I could feel my face heating up. I looked down at Tori to see that she was still asleep. I then laid back down on the bed.

"_Marriage, huh?_" I thought "_That kid is getting ahead of herself._"

I then went back to sleep.

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ATE: Never saw that coming. Please Review. 


	3. Meeting The Family

ATE: Another update. I just finished this and I hope you all enjoy.

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Chapter 3

Meeting The Family

I woke up to find that it was already morning. I looked at the spot next to me and saw that Cloud was still asleep. I smiled. I looked at my alarm clock and saw that it was 6:30. I may have enough time to take a shower before breakfast.

I carefully got out of bed so I wouldn't wake up Cloud, picked out a pair of jeans and a grey shirt along with some other stuff, and went into the bathroom closing the door behind me.

As soon as I was inside where my shower was I turned on the water and waited for it to become the right temperature before stepping in.

Cloud's POV

I woke up and found that Tori was gone. I soon heard the sound of water running and figured that she was taking a shower. I might as well look around her room while waiting for her.

I got out of her bed and stood up, feeling that my muscles being stiff. I stretched until all my limbs felt relaxed and walked around the room looking at everything.

I saw that she had a small TV, a closet (but I didn't look inside it), and a desk with a computer on it. But what caught my eyes was a DVD box. I picked it up and saw that the title read 'Final Fantasy VII Advent Children' on it, along with a picture of...me and Sephiroth.

I soon heard a door open and turned to see that Tori came out with her hair wet

Back To Tori's POV

When I was done taking a shower and getting dressed, I went back to my room, and I opened the door to see that Cloud was awake.

"I see you're awake." I said with a smile.

Cloud gave me a smile, it was faint, but it was there. I walked over to him.

"Let's get something to eat. My parents should be home and I think you should meet them."

I opened my door and went outside with Cloud following behind me as I went downstairs. We came into the kitchen and I saw that Dad was at the table reading the newspaper, Jackie at the table sitting, and Mom cooking breakfast. When they heard us coming in, they turned their heads to Cloud and I.

"Morning, guys." I said.

They then greeted me back.

"Who's this?" Asked Mom.

"This is Cloud. I told all of you about him, remember?"

"So that would explain the huge motorcycle in the driveway." Said Dad.

I remembered when I was watching Advent Children when Dad said that Cloud, Kadaj, and Yazoo looked like girls. I had to tell him that they weren't. Well it's true that Kadaj and Yazoo looked like girls, what with the long hair and all. But seriously, Cloud looked nothing like a girl. Maybe it was his face. The world may never know.

"Would you like some coffee?" Asked Mom.

"Sure." Said Cloud.

Mom poured Cloud a cup of coffee and handed it to him.

"You should go sit at the table." I told Cloud.

He simply nodded and then sat at the table.

I went over to the fridge and got out the orange juice. I shook it up and poured some into a cup and sat at the table next to Cloud, who was quietly sipping his coffee.

It was then that Mom was done cooking the food and was putting plates in front of everyone.

"So Cloud. What do you do as a job?" Asked Dad.

"I deliver packages for a business that I set up called Strife Delivery Service. You were right about the motorcycle that's in your driveway belonging to me. It's called Fenrir."

"Why is it so big?"

"The motorcycles in this world are just small compared to Fenrir. Mine is normal size in my world. I also have all my swords in it."

"Real swords?"

"Yeah, swords. They're those long, sharp, pointy objects that can be used as weapons." I said.

"We know what swords are, Tori." Said Jackie.

"So Tori stayed with you, right?"

"It wasn't just me. There was also my friend Tifa and the kids Marlene and Denzel. Tifa owns a bar called the Seventh Heaven, which is also where we live."

"Yeah. And we would do pranks on each other." I said.

"What kind of pranks?"

"The first one was when I made Cloud think that I was teaching the kids how to play poker out of a game of go fish. Another one I did to him was the whipped cream and feather duster while he was asleep, but I got caught."

"What happened?"

"I simply tied her arms and legs with rope and covered her mouth shut." Said Cloud.

Everyone laughed

"You see, I usually started it and then he gets me back right after I do it." I said. "But last time, he started it when he set up a bucket of water hanging from the ceil, which poured all over me when I got outside my room. I got him back with the same trick and when he got downstairs, his upper half was soaking wet, along with his hair. And he got me back by hugging me, causing me to get wet again."

"Sounds like you two had fun." Said Jackie.

I simply glared at my little sister.

"How about we see those swords after breakfast?" Asked Dad.

"We could have them watch us spar too." I said.

"That a good idea." Said Cloud.

We all finished our breakfast and I quickly went into my room to get my sword before going outside with everyone else to see all of Cloud's swords. He pressed a certain button on Fenrir and the sides opened up and all the hilts from his swords were sticking out. Cloud took one of them out and I saw that it was the one that he used against Sephiroth in Advent Children. I think it was called First Tsurugi? I'm not sure.

"It's huge. Is it heavy?"

"Not for me, but I'm not sure you could lift it."

"Let me see."

Oh no. Dad was going to make the worse mistake in his life. Might as well watch. Cloud handed his sword to Dad, but when it was in his hands, the weight of the sword cause him to fall over. He could barely lift it.

"It's heavy. How are you able to lift it?"

"I had Mako injections. They enhance the abilities of people, making them stronger than a normal person."

"Why did you get the injections?"

"If you wanted to work for the Shinra company or join a group of warriors that work for them called SOLDIER, you had to get them."

"So you were a SOLDIER?"

I knew Cloud didn't want to talk about what his first job was. He wanted to join SOLDIER but he never made it and instead become a regular Shinra guard. I thought that I should tell them that he worked as a SOLDIER once like he said he did in the Final Fantasy VII game.

"He was one, but now he's an ex-SOLDIER." I said.

It seemed that Cloud saw what I was trying to do, so he joined in.

"Like Tori said, I was in SOLDIER."

"I think we're ready to watch you guys spar." Said Jackie.

For once, I was thankful for Jackie changing the subject. We all went into the backyard since we would have enough space to fight. Mom, Dad, and Jackie went to sit on the porch to watch.

I got my sword out and Cloud still had his. I did the first move to start the fight and charged towards him to attack him, only for him to block me. He tried to slash at me, but I jumped out of the way just in time. I knew that Cloud was good at fighting, so I tried to think of a way to win. I soon got an idea in my head.

I charged at him and attack him high up. He brought up his sword but I simply slashed at him from below, causing him to fall to the ground. I placed the tip of my sword to his throat.

"Give up?" I asked.

I expected him to just give up, but what happened next took me by surprise. He kicked my feet from under me and I fell to the ground as he got up. I quickly got up just in time to see Cloud quickly take his sword apart so that he was hold to swords in his hand.

"_Oh shit!_" I thought. "_He must of known that what I did to him was going to happen so he tricked me._"

I then jumped backwards as Cloud swung his sword at me. He has an advantage over me with having two sword. He swung again and I blocked it, but he used his other sword to knock me to the ground. I was about the get up, but the tip of Cloud's sword was to my neck.

"I win." He said with a smirk.

"And I give up." I said.

He took his sword away from my neck and helped me to my feet. I then heard clapping and saw that it was coming from my family.

"Great job." I heard Jackie.

"Oh, by the way. Ashleigh's coming back home for her break today." Said Mom.

"She is?" I asked.

"You know what that means?"

"We get to play DDR!"

"DDR?" Asked Cloud.

"It's short for Dance Dance Revolution. It's video game that's really fun. We always play it every night when Ashleigh comes back." I explained. "I'll have to teach you how to play before she gets here. I should actually teach you now, since I have an idea that it'll take awhile for you to get used to it."

"Okay."

Everyone else went inside except for Cloud and I. I went with him to put his sword back in Fenrir. After he was done, we went back inside.

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ATE: What do you think. Please Review. 


	4. Dance Dance Revolution Night

ATE: Here's the next update. Even though there are songs here, doesn't mean I'm putting lyrics, since I'm not good with these kinds of songs. Beware of swirly, nuggies and 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'!

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Chapter 4

Dance Dance Revolution Night

"Okay, Cloud. We're going to have to go to the basement because the stuff's down there." I said as I led him down the stairs and into the basement. I chose the basement since it and had tons of space.

Once we got down there I went straight to the big TV that was to the left of the stairs. My Xbox was hooked up to and hooked up to the console was two DDR mats while the game was inside. I soon started it up and waited for it to get to the 'how many players' menu. When it came up I put in two players since I was going to show Cloud how to play while I helped him out.

I knew that Cloud was looking around the room since he wasn't with me at the moment. After a few mintues he came over to where I was and I told him that it was ready. I explained how to play DDR to him and it seemed that he understood.

"We're going to have to choose three songs to dance to for our three stages. My family already chose their's. It works like this: We split up into three groups, one being my parents, another with both my sisters, and usually I'm by myself, but now that you're here I won't have to." I said. "For each group they score points and when the results of the third stage adds up to all the other score of the group, we add the scores of both people in one group to determind their score for them. I already chose our songs (since they're the ones I chose when I played by myself). They're called 'Since U Been Gone', 'Under The Sky', and 'Star Gate Heaven'."

"What did the other groups choose?" Asked Cloud.

"Well, for Ashleigh and Jackie, they chose 'Dance, Dance', 'Shiver', and 'Shout'. My parents chose 'Come Clean', 'Let's Dance', and 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'."

"Why didn't you chose that last song that you listed for you parents?"

"You mean 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'? You'll see why tonight."

Trust me. Cloud would be be seeing why I didn't choose that song. He was definately not going to like that.

"Well, anyways. We should get you used to playing DDR first, okay?"

Cloud nodded.

I then chose the random option and we started dancing as the music played. For not having played DDR before, Cloud was pretty good. Maybe because of fighting a lot of battles.

After a few rounds he seemed to get the hang of playing DDR and we were now both tired. I looked up at Cloud, who did the same for me.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"DDR's fun. I think I'm ready for it tonight." Answered Cloud.

"That's good."

Cloud then lowered his head and we kissed.

"Aw! I'm telling!"

Cloud and I quickly pulled away and looked at the stairs to see Jackie with a smirk on her face.

"I'm telling Mom that you two kissed." Said Jackie.

I then started to glare at Jackie.

"If you do, Jackie, I'll be drowning you in the toilet with a swirly, and if you live through the swirly, I'll have Cloud issue the most hardest nuggie that your head has ever had." I threatened.

It looked like Jackie was was thinking about her choice.

"I won't tell." She said.

Good. I knew she would want the swirly and a nuggie for telling. Besides, Cloud's nuggies hurt like crap.

"By the way, I came to tell you that Ashleigh's here and that it's time to eat."

"That's good. We were about to come upstairs, right Cloud?" I said.

"Yeah."

We all went upstairs to eat, and for Cloud to meet Asheigh.

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After we all ate dinner we brought up the Xbox along with DDR to the living room and set it up to the TV.

To decide which group went first we did rock, paper, scissors. It was as followed: my sisters group went first, parents second, and last Cloud and I.

Cloud and I watched as my sister did their three rounds and soon Mom and Dad came up. I knew that they were going to do 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'.

"You'll see why I didn't pick it." I whispered to Cloud.

We all watched as my parents were dancing to the song. The song always annoyed me to death.

"That's why." I said.

"I don't blame you." He said.

Soon my parents were done and it was our turn to dance. 'Under The Sky' was the song that we did first and it was one of my favorites in the game. Next came 'Since U Been Gone' and followed 'Star Gate Heaven' afterward. It seemed like a few seconds before we were finished.

We added up the scores and in first place was me and Cloud, followed by my sisters and my parents.

We were all tired at the end so everyone went to bed. When Cloud and I got to my room I looked the door so if another incident like with Jackie happened again, they wouldn't get in. He understood what I did. We soon went to sleep.

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ATE: What do you think. You know the usual, Please Review. 


	5. Of Humor And Horror Movies

ATE: Finally updated.

Declaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, Robot Chicken from Adult Swim, Burger King, or size=1 width=100% noshade>Chapter 5

Of Humor And Horror Movies

Cloud and I woke up the next day and had breakfast. As we ate I told him that I wanted to show him something on the computer that he would think was funny. After we ate, we went back to my room and I turned on the computer.

"Why are you on the computer?" He asked.

"What I wanted to show you is on the internet. You might find it funny, but I'm not sure." I said as I was now pressing the internet icon on the screen.

"Where is it at?"

"On youtube."

I was now on youtube. I clicked on video and typed in 'Robot Chicken Final Fantasy VII' and clicked search. I got my result, which was 'Final Fantasy 7 Burger King'. I clicked on it and told Cloud to watch with me.

_The video started with the outside of Burger King and then switched to Cloud choping up potatoes with his sword. Tifa then come in._

_"Cloud, the lunch rush is starting! We need those french fries!" Said Tifa._

_It then switched to Cloud fighting a giant potato. It then attacks as a thing says 'potato attacks with masher!' on it and caused 20 damage to him. The attack menu then goes to special and selects 'chop'. The thing says 'Cloud attacks with special min. wage chop!' and causes 344 damage, killing the potato._

_After that the screen then goes to Barret frying hamburger patties and Yuffie just standing there. _

_"We need more &#$ frozen patties, Yuffie!" Barret says._

_"I'll get them! I'll get them!"_

_It switches to Aerith (or in this case Aeris) at the counter with tons of people waiting in line for food. _

_"..." Customer ._

_"I'm so hungry!" Customer 2._

_"Hi, Mrs. Hungry can I call you 'so'?" Customer 3. _

_Yuffie then comes in and over to Aeris._

_"Hurry, Aeris! The Manager is coming!" Says Yuffie._

_It then goes back to Cloud choping potatoes. The door fling open to reveal...Sephiroth!_

_"Ha ha ha! Cloud, I need you to work on saturday!" Says Sephiroth._

_"But I have Lakers Tickets!" _

_"Ha ha ha!"_

_"..."_

_It then shows Cloud fighting Sephiroth. 'Sephiroth attacks with Unpaid Overtime!' comes up and Cloud gets hit. 'Cloud attacks with Ultimate Weapon!' comes up and a image of space appears and you see something flying. It then hits and destroys Burger King. _

_Cloud and Barret emerge from the rubble._

_"$#+!" Says Barret._

When it ended I looked at Cloud.

"So what do you think?" I asked.

"It's funny. I never expected Sephiroth to me the manager." He said.

"At least he's not as evil as the real Sephiroth, right?"

"True. That's just the 'average evil that everyone hates' type of person."

It was then that my door opened and Ashleigh came in.

"Hey. Do you two what to see a horror movie tonight?" She asked.

"Sure...why not?" I said.

True that I didn't like horror movies and all, but I might have overcome my fear of them since I've seen and (sorta) done the same thing. What could happen?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can't believe I asked that question. It's dark outside and we're all watching a horror movie. Cloud and I sat on the coach while Ashleigh sat in the chair.

It got to a scary part, and I couldn't help but hide my face in the pillow next to me. Even if I couldn't see what was happening, the sounds just made my mind think of stuff to fit them. I didn't even dare to look at the TV screen again now.

I soon felt Cloud's arms around me and started to draw me close to him and we both stood up.

"I think we should go." Cloud whispered to me.

Cloud walked me back to my room and we both entered. I went and sat on the bed. I could still hear the noises from the movie in my head. Cloud the sat next to me and then held me in his arms.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I think so. I never liked horror movies." I said.

"It's okay if you're scared. True that the real violence it inevitable, but the violence in that movie is something you're able to avoid seeing on a TV."

"That's true."

"It's late. Try to get so sleep."

I looked up at him.

"If I sleep, I might get images of that movie in my head."

"Don't worry. I'll be here. I would never let anything bad happen to you."

"Thank you."

"We leave tomorrow." He said.

I fell asleep soon enough, trying to drown out the images of the movie with thoughts of Cloud.

* * *

ATE: Sorry for the chapter being short and all. Please Update. 


	6. Going Back To Gaia

ATE: Sorry it took me long to update. I finished this chapter as fast as I could.

* * *

Chapter 6

Going Back To Gaia

That morning at breakfast Cloud explained to my parents that he and I were leaving today. When I saw the look of concern on their faces, I told them that I would be okay.

When that was over, I went to my room and got my sword and the white materia from their places. I stopped before I left. I might not come back her again, so I should bring something. I then thought to bring my ipod with me. I went over to my desk and placed it in my pocket. The only songs I had on it were sountracks (like KH 1 & 2, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, and all three LOTR).

When I was done, I came back downstairs to meet up with Cloud. Before leaving my family came to see me off.

"Bye, Tori." Said Mom.

"You two play nice now." Said Jackie.

I then glared at my little sister.

Ashleigh then came up to me with a book of some sort in her hand.

"Here. Take this." She said as she handed it to me. I soon found out that it was my photo album with the photos I took over the last three years of the family along with me in some of them.

"It's my photo album. Why are you giving me this?" I asked.

"Well, you might not see us for awhile, so I thought you should have it to remind you of us."

"T-thanks. If I find a way to get back here, I'll try to visit as often as I can."

"Hey, remember the movie quote." Said Jackie. "Dilly Dally, Shilly shally."

"Okay, we'll get a move on." I said. "Let's go, Cloud."

Cloud nodded to me and placed his sunglasses on his face. We then walked out the door and went over to Fenrir. This would be my eighth time on it. Cloud got on first and I followed and wrapped my arms around his waist. Before I knew it we were now driving on the road towards a portal of some sort. It then figured out that that was how Cloud got here before. We then drove into it and as quick as we had entered we were out of it.

When I looked around I saw that we were in the wasteland area that Cloud fought the SHM (Silver Haired Men aka Kadaj and his gang) in the beginning of the movie. Up ahead I saw Edge and we were heading in that direction too. It was then that it hit me like a ton of bricks.

"_We're going to the Seventh Heaven. I'll get to see Marlene and Denzel again._" I thought.

I knew I would be happy to see Marlene and Denzel again, but would they recognize me? I'll find out soon enough.

We were now driving through the city and soon Cloud was parking in front of the Seventh Heaven. We both got off Fenrir and made our way to the door.

"You go in first." Said Cloud.

I was suspicous of why Cloud wanted me to go inside first, but I went in anyways. As soon as I walked inside, people jumped out of nowhere.

"Welcome back!!" They shouted.

I jumped up in surprise. I then noticed that the people were Tifa, Yuffie, Barret, Marlene, Denzel, Cid, and Vincent (he didn't shout with the others). I saw a sign hanging from the ceiling saying 'Welcome Back' on it.

Before I knew it, I was in a suffocating hug by Yuffie.

"YEAH! YOU'RE BACK! WE MISSED YOU SOOO MUCH!" Said Yuffie. Man, was she hyper.

"Yeah... Thanks Yuffie... Could you let go? I can't breathe..." I said as best I could.

"Oh, sorry." She then let me go.

I was then hugged by Marlene and Denzel.

"You're back." They said.

"Hey, you two. I missed you too."

"You've changed." Said Tifa.

I looked up at Tifa.

"Well, three years had passed since I got back, but Cloud told me that three months had passed here." I said.

As if on cue, Cloud came in.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked.

"Not really." Said Tifa.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's party!" Said Yuffie.

We all then started having a party. And believe me, it was fun!

* * *

ATE: Sorry about itbeing short and all but I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Please Review. 


	7. The Party And Familiar And New Faces

ATE: Sorry I haven't updated in so long. But I got a new chap ready to go. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 7

Party On With Familiar And New Faces

As the party went on, I caught up with everyone on what has happened for them over three months.

Tifa explained that Marlene and Denzel had asked her where I was the day I disappeared. She told me that it was hard to explain to them since they were still young and most likely wouldn't understand.

So I was with Marlene and Denzel as we ate cake (that was one of the things we could eat).

"Your hair has gotten so long, Tori." Said Marlene. "I can't wait to braid it. It'll be like braiding my doll's hair!"

"Don't worry, Marlene. You can braid it any time you want. You have my full permission." I said.

"Will we be doing stuff together again like we used to?" Asked Denzel.

"Of course we will, Denzel. You have no idea how much I've missed doing things with you guys."

"Come on, Denzel. Let's get more cake!" Said Marlene.

Marlene and Denzel left to get more cake. I stood where I was watching how they went over to the table with the cake.

"Yo sure have a way with kids." A voice said behind me.

I turned around and saw that it was Barret. I've never really talked with Barret before, but there's a first for everything, right?

"It may seem that way. They've really grown attached to me when I first came here." I said.

"You have no idea how many times Marlene asked me about when you would return."

"Well, I'm here now."

"That true. I better see how the others are."

"Sure thing, Barret."

I left Barret and went over to where Vincent was. Vincent was in the corner with a glass of wine in his hand as he leaned again the wall.

"Hello, Vincent." I said.

Vincent looked up at me, acknowledging that I was there.

"Are you mad about the Count Dracula thing?"

"Why would I be mad about something like that?" He asked.

"Then you still remember that, right?"

"It was three months ago when it happened, or did you forget?"

"It may have been three months for you, but it was three years for me."

"Then that would explain why it seemed to be longer for you than for the others."

I then became serious.

"Vincent. There's something you need to know."

Vincent looked at me. I needed to tell him about the events of the 'Dirge Of Cerberus' game. During the three years I spend back home, I bought a PS2 and 'Dirge Of Cerberus'. I beat the game within a week with the secret ending as well.

"In one year's time, there will be a crisis here. A group of evil people will be after you, and as you fight them, you will need to confront your past." I explained.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that there is a game in my world that tells of these events. That is how I know." I said. "I gotta go, Vincent."

I left and found Cloud talking to an older man that had dark hair and a beard. By his side stood Cait Sith. I immediately knew that it was Reeve Tuesti.

Cloud spotted me and motioned for me to come over.

"There you are Tori. I want you to meet someone." Said Cloud.

"I'm Reeve Tuesti, Leader of the WRO." Reeve held out his hand to me, which I shook. "But I assume you probably already knew that."

"Nice to meet you Reeve." I said. "And yes, you're right."

"You probably already know my little friend, Cait Sith." He motioned to Cait Sith, who waved.

"Why, long time no see, Tori." Said Cait Sith.

"Good to see you too."

Just then, I heard the door slam open, and turned around to see…Reno and Rude…!

"_Not him again…_" I thought.

I remembered my first encounter with Reno.

"We're here and ready to party!" Said Reno.

Reno then spotted me and started to come over to where I was. Oh no…

"Say, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" He asked.

"N-no, I don't believe we have." I said nervously.

"Are you sure? I would never forget the faces of the ladies I meet."

"She hasn't met you Reno." Said Cloud stepping in. About time. "Let's go." He whispered.

I eagerly agreed and left with Cloud to another area of the room. I wanted to get as far away from the red head as possible.

"Didn't expect him to be here." I said.

"You mean Reno?" Asked Cloud.

"Yeah."

"Just hope he doesn't start hitting on you again."

"I agree."

* * *

ATE: Short, I know. I still have a little case of writer's block, so I might take longer.

Please Review :)


	8. A Friend From Beyond

ATE: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating soon. School got me good this time. You readers are in for a big surprise!

Declaimer: I don't own FFVII. They rightfully belong to Square Enix.

* * *

Chapter 8

A Friend From Beyond

After the party was over, we started to clean up the bar. I offered to help the others clean up, but Tifa shook her head, telling me that I just got back here and that it was late. When she mentioned the time, I looked at the time and saw that it was 1:29 in the morning.

I went to my room by taking the stairs. I entered my room and saw that it looked the same as the last time I saw it, with the exception that there was another bed.

I got ready and got into the bed, falling asleep immediately.

--

I opened my eyes and saw that I was in the place filled with the lilies. I felt a glowing feeling in my heart, but at the same time I felt sad. Not the crying nonstop sad, but a reminisce sort of sad.

I remembered all the times I've been here before…meeting Aerith and Zack. Speaking about Zack, where was he?

"Look who's here!" I heard a voice say.

I turned around and saw Zack. He looked the same as always.

"Hi Zack!" I said.

Zack came over to me and to my surprise he hugged me in a friendly hug. He then let go of me, and looked at the ground.

"What's wrong, Zack?"

I then saw Zack starting to pout as he crossed his arms.

"You didn't come and visit me!"

I couldn't help but smile at how childish he was acting.

"Zack, I couldn't visit you. I wasn't able to."

"You weren't able to visit me for three months?!"

"I wasn't even on Gaia. It's been three years in my world." I stated.

It was then that Zack went quiet. I wonder why he was so quiet all of a sudden. He looked like he was thinking with his head hanging.

"No wonder why I didn't feel your presence through the Lifestream…"

He then looked up with a wide smile on his face.

"_Why's he looking at me like that?_" I thought.

"You've really grown!" He said.

"Well, yeah…it's pretty obvious…"

"And not just that! Your hair got longer too!"

If this were an anime, I would have sweat dropped.

"I missed you!"

Before I knew it, I was tackled to the ground by Zack himself.

"I missed you too! But I can't say I miss being tackled to the ground…" I said.

"What if I were to tell you that I have a surprise?" Zack asked.

"What kind of surprise?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!"

I looked at Zack and was suspicious of what his 'surprise' was.

"Well it looks like it's time for you to wake up. Bye!"

--

I woke up to find that it was already morning. I got up and got dressed for the day. Even if it had been three years since the last time I was here, I still remember what I did here.

I went outside my room and made my way downstairs to find Tifa, Marlene and Denzel at the table. But where was Cloud?

"Good morning Tori." Said Tifa. I sat down at the table.

"Morning Tifa." I replied. "Where's Cloud?"

Just then I heard a loud yawn and turned around to find Cloud walking in half asleep. I saw that he was wearing sky blue PJs with chibi looking chocobos on them. And if that wasn't enough, the way his hair looked was funny. You would think that with Cloud's hair being as spiky as it usually was it wouldn't get messed up, right? Wrong! It was messed up so bad due to sleep, that it looked very wild pocking out in random places. I tried not to laugh as he came and sat down in a chair.

"Wow. I'm not sure if it's a sleepy Cloud or a sleepy chocobo that came and sat at the table just now." I said, mostly directed at Cloud.

Everyone (minus Cloud) was laughing. Cloud glared at me in his half-sleep state.

"You don't know what a chocobo looks like." Cloud said, becoming more awake with every second that passed.

"I know what a chocobo looks like, but I haven't actually seen a real one." I stated. "And if your hair wasn't enough, I'd say your PJs made my day!"

Cloud looked at what he was wearing and groaned upon seeing the chocobo PJs. I heard him mutter about Yuffie getting him the PJs.

"Dammit Yuffie!" He muttered.

"I win, Chocobo Head!" I said. I heard Cloud groan again.

"You just had to remember that…"

"Remember what…?" I asked confused.

"Nothing." He said quickly.

"If it's about the 'Chocobo Head' thing, I knew about it back home."

"That's even worse…!"

--

After breakfast I spent time with Marlene and Denzel in their room. Marlene asked me if she could braid my hair and I let her do so since my hair was so long, it got in the way more than it would when it was mid-back.

When she was done, I started to drawing pictures with the two. I caught a glance of Marlene's drawing and saw that she was drawing me. I smiled at that.

It was soon lunch time so I took Marlene and Denzel downstairs to make sandwiches. We made simple sandwiches that consisted of ham and cheese.

Cloud came in a few seconds later and I was forced to make him a sandwich. Just kidding! I chose to make him a sandwich.

As we were eating, I heard the front door open, but ignored it thinking it was a customer.

"Hey! I thought there were going to be gasps when I came in!"

That voice! It sounded familiar. I turned around and my eyes widen. Standing at the door was...

--

ATE: I'm gonna stop it here, guys.

Tifa: You can't do that!

Reno: Yeah! The Readers might throw stuff at you, yo!

ATE: And how do you know that they might throw stuff at me?

Reno: I read about it in the other stories, yo.

ATE: That's great Reno-- Wait a minute! RENO?!

Reno: OH SHIT! (Runs away)

ATE: Okay, so people might throw stuff at me.

Cloud: Or worse...

ATE: Like what, Cloud? (lights go out) What? Who turned off the lights?! (Lights turn back on and authoress has a sword at her throat)

Sephiroth: Like me.

ATE: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Okay okay!! I'll continue!!

--

Zack…!

I looked to Cloud who had a surprised look on his face.

"Now there's the reaction I was looking for!" He said.

I got up from my chair and walked over to Zack.

"Zack…?" I asked unsure.

"The one and only, Zack Fair!" Zack looked at Cloud and smiled. "Hey Spiky! Long time no see!"

Cloud couldn't respond. I think he was too shocked at the moment. I couldn't help but wonder the same thing: how?

"How are you alive? Aren't you dead?" I asked.

"Well, Tori. Funny you should ask." Zack said with a grin on his face. "Remember about the surprise I told you about?"

It was then I realized what he meant.

"You don't mean…that you coming back to life was the surprise?"

"BINGO! We have a winner! Yes, this is the surprise!"

"I'm definitely surprised." I then looked at Cloud, who had the same shocked loon on his face.

--

(BONUS TIME!)

"Cloud, are you okay?" I asked.

I touched his shoulder, but I jumped in surprise when he fell over as if he were a statue. Even though he hit the ground, he didn't move an inch.

"Cloud!" I cried as I tried to move him, but he wouldn't budge.

"I think seeing me alive put him in a state shock." Said Zack.

(END OF BONUS)

--

"Cloud, are you okay?" I asked, touching his shoulder. I started shaking him. "Cloud? Cloud? Hey Cloud!"

Cloud just shook his head and blinked as if he were waking up.

"Cloud!" He looked at me.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"I was just worried when you weren't responding."

"Oh, sorry…"

"Anyways Spiky." Zack came over and placed his arm around Cloud's shoulder. "You shouldn't worry her like that. You might regret it."

"Zack!" Cloud yelled.

"Sorry!"

"I think Zack should stay." I said.

Cloud looked at me like I was insane.

"Yeah! I don't have anywhere else to go! Please?" Zack started to do the puppy dog face.

"Fine…"

--

ATE: Surprised that a certain character returned? Didn't see it coming did you? Please Review!


	9. A Returning Nightmare

ATE: Again, I'm sorry for not updating in such a long time. I started writing this chap this morning and I just finished at 7:12 PM and it's 7 pages long on word document.

Declaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. I do own a copy of the game, my own character, and this plot.

* * *

Chapter 9

A Returning Nightmare

And so Cloud had agreed to let Zack stay at the Seventh Heaven. Remember how I had said that there were _two _beds in my room when I first got here? Well…it turns out that Zack was going to sleep in…you guessed it…my room…!

Oh, believe me, I was surprised that we would have to share a room, but the good news is that there are going to be some rules laid down for us (courtesy of yours truly). They were as followed:

Knock on the bathroom door before going inside

No nighttime pranks (provided by Cloud, heh heh…doesn't mean that I can't do it to you…)

and

No peeping when someone's in the bathroom (how am I supposed to know if Zack's a pervert…?)

The good thing was that Zack agreed right away to the rules, which I was thankful.

That night I had just come out of the bathroom from changing into my PJs. I saw Zack laying on his bed with a satisfied look on his face.

"Ahh…it's good to be alive again." He said.

"Why's that Zack?" I asked.

Zack looked up at me, his grin reaching his eyes.

"Well, for one, I haven't slept in a bed in a _long_ time. Being in the afterlife doesn't exactly give you the luxury of a nice soft bed."

I couldn't help but smile from Zack's joke. I then had a sudden thought.

"You know what Zack?" I asked.

"What?"

"I noticed that you don't have a pair of PJs yourself. I think I'll convince Tifa if I could go out and buy you some."

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes really. And I know the perfect kind to get you."

I couldn't help the thought of buying Zack purple PJs with chibi black puppies on it, since Cloud had sky blue ones with chibi chocobos on his.

"What, I can't come?"

"No. It's a surprise of what kind I'll get you."

"Not fair." Zack crossed his arms and started pouting like a kid.

"Life's not exactly fair, Zack Fair." I said. "Now let's get some sleep."

------------------------------------------------------

As I slept I had a dream.

_I felt that I was on my knees in a praying position with my eyes closed. I soon heard footsteps approaching me, clicking against the floor. The footsteps stopped near me and it was quiet until I heard people shout for the person to stop._

_**~(3**__**rd**__** POV, outside dream)~**_

Zack woke up to see Tori getting out of bed, watching as she walked a little ways before going on her knees and got into a praying position.

"Tori, what are you doing?" Zack asked as he got out of bed. Tori didn't respond or say anything. Zack's eyes widened.

"_Better get Cloud!_" He thought.

Zack ran out of the room that they were sharing and started knocking on Cloud's bedroom door. A few seconds later, a sleepy looking Cloud answered the door, looking at Zack.

"What is it Zack?" Cloud asked.

"It's Tori. She just got out of bed and started to pray."

At this Cloud eyes widened. He started to make his way to Tori and Zack's room with the latter following behind the blonde. They soon came back into the room and Cloud saw what his friend meant. Exactly as Zack had described it.

"_This looks familiar…_" Cloud thought.

_**~(Tori's POV, dream)~**_

_I lifted my head to look up at the person that was in front of me. It turned out to be Cloud but he was dressed differently and I noticed that he had his sword out._

"_Cloud…?" I thought. "What is he doing here…?"_

_**~(3**__**rd**__** POV, outside dream)~**_

Just then Tori lifted her head and opened her eyes. Cloud's eyes widened in shock as he gasped quietly.

"_This is…!_" He thought.

_**~(Tori's POV, dream)~**_

_I stared at Cloud still pondering why he was her until I felt something sharp pierce me through my stomach as I felt my arms drop to my side and I fell forward._

_**~(3**__**rd**__** POV, outside dream)~**_

Suddenly Tori fell to the ground as blood started to bleed out of the wound on her stomach. Cloud ran to her and held her in his arms. He was shocked that this happened. It was just like before…when Aerith died. Cloud eyes went wide. The blood…the wound…everything! It was just like before.

"Zack!" Cloud said. "Get Tifa. Tell her that Tori's bleeding and to get restore materia, first aid kit, and potions that she can find"

"What about you?" Zack asked.

"I have a restore materia with me at the moment. I'll use that to help her while you get Tifa."

Zack then left the room leaving Cloud to use the restore materia he had with him to heal Tori. She was bleeding and he wasn't going to let her die again.

_**~(Tori's POV, dream)~**_

_I opened my eyes only to have them widen at the sight of a blade coming through my stomach. I felt my breathing become slow and struggled as I stared at the sword._

"_I know what this is…!" I thought realizing what was going on. "Aerith's death…! I'm reliving it…!"_

_Suddenly I felt the sword painfully being removed from my stomach, causing me to fall forward. I thought I was going to hit the ground until I felt someone catch me before I made impact. The person was cradling me in their arms. _

_**~(3**__**rd**__** POV, outside dream)~**_

Zack soon came back with Tifa, both of them carrying materia and medical supplies as Cloud continued to heal Tori. Zack soon came over to Cloud holding a restore materia in his hands.

"Let's use Regan on her and then heal her with Cure3." Zack declared.

Cloud nodded and used the restore materia in his hand to cast Regan on Tori. The spell was successful and while Regan was in affect Zack and Cloud kept casting Cure3 simultaneously on her.

_**~(Tori's POV, dream)~**_

_I was in pain and I could literally feel my life slowly fading away._

"_This feels real… Am I…dying…?" I thought._

"_Hang on, Tori." I heard a voice say to me._

_I slowly opened my eyes to see that my surroundings had become a white void. I slowly looked up at the and saw Aerith with me. _

"_Ae…rith…?" I said quietly. _

_My head was laying on Aerith's lap as her green eyes gazed down at my weak form. She nodded her head._

"_I thought…you…left…"_

"_I never left. I've been with you this whole time." Aerith said._

"_Why…are…you…here…?"_

"_You're injured and dying. It's affecting you physically in the real world."_

"_Am I…going to die…?" I asked._

"_You would have if Zack hadn't told Cloud and Tifa what you were doing." Aerith started to light stroke my forehead as if I was a child. "Right now they are doing everything they can to save your life."_

"_Cloud and the others are doing everything in order to save me…?"_

"_Even I'm here to help you. As they try to heal you physically, I will try to heal you spiritually. That way we will surely save your life."_

"_Thank you, Aerith…" I tried to smile, but all I could accomplish was a small smile._

"_You're welcome." Aerith said. "Just relax as I try to heal you."_

_I closed my eyes as I tried to relax. I suddenly felt warmth spread throughout my body and then the pain seemed to disappear completely._

"_Tori. I'll always be with you. Never forget that." Aerith's voice seemed to echo around me._

_----------------------------------------_--------

"…can you…pulse…?" I heard someone say. I couldn't exactly make out what they were saying.

I faintly heard footsteps sounding on a wooden floor and suddenly felt something grab my wrist gently. It was quiet for a while until I heard a sigh of relief.

"…can feel…pulse …faint, but…alive..." I heard someone else say.

Slowly awareness started to creep back to me and noticed how I felt as someone was holding me. I heard myself moan and suddenly heard quiet gasps.

"…looks…she's coming to." Someone said.

With difficulty I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry at first but soon came into focus as I saw Cloud, Tifa, and Zack looking at me with worried looks. It was then I noticed that Cloud was holding me.

"Cloud…Tifa…Zack…?" I said. "What…happened…?"

"You don't remember?" Zack said. I shook my head softly. "I woke up to find you getting out of your bed and stand on your knees praying as if you were in a trance."

"Zack came and told me about what you were doing. We came back and you looked up and then…" Cloud trailed off, as if he was scared to say what had happened next.

"You suddenly fell to the floor bleeding as if you were stabbed through the stomach."

"_Stabbed…?_" I thought.

I looked down to my stomach and saw a lot of blood staining my PJs. Upon seeing it I was suddenly overwhelmed by the pain that was coming from my stomach. I cried out in pain as it seemed to just register in my brain that I was injured. I've never been in this much pain before.

"You shouldn't move! It'll make it worse!" Tifa said. I watched as Tifa got out a bottle of some strange liquid. After opening it she held it to my lips. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

I opened my mouth a little as Tifa tipped the bottle slight to help the liquid go down. When I had tasted the liquid, I noticed how horrible it tasted and shut my mouth.

"I know it may taste bad, but you have to drink all of it." Tifa said as if she knew what I was thinking.

"What…is that?"

"It's a Hi-Potion. It'll help heal the injury."

I then opened my mouth again and started to drink the horrible tasting potion, trying so hard to focus my mind away from the taste. When the bottle was empty Tifa took it away and brought out a roll of bandages.

"Zack can you help me?" She asked.

"Sure. What do you need help with?" Zack asked.

"I need you to hold Tori while I bandage her."

"Okay." Zack made his way over to where Cloud was holding me. "I know that you don't want to let her go, but we need to bandage her, Cloud."

I could tell that Cloud was somewhat reluctant on handing me over to Zack, but I had a feeling that he knew that he had no other choice but to do so. With care, he handed me over to Zack, who carefully held me as he sat on the ground near Tifa. Tifa lifted my PJ shirt so the injury was showing (It looked very horrible) and started to wrap bandages around my stomach.

As Tifa was wrapping my stomach, I looked back at Cloud whose gaze had fallen to the wooden floor and noticed that a lot of blood had stained his PJs.

"_My blood…_" I told myself in thought. I ruined his PJs with my own blood.

As if sensing my gaze was on him, Cloud looked up at my and I saw that his Mako infused eyes held a look of sadness in them. I couldn't help but feel sad when I saw his eyes express the emotion so powerfully. I wanted so much as to tell him that everything was going to be all right, but I felt as if I doubted the very words that I had thought. I felt tears fall from my eyes that only did little to express how I really felt.

Soon Tifa was done bandaging my stomach and started to put everything she had brought away.

"That should do it. Now try to get some rest Tori." Tifa said.

I nodded my head telling her that I heard her. Tifa soon left the room leaving Cloud, Zack and I in the room.

"You can have her back, Cloud." Zack said.

Zack carried me over to where Cloud was sitting on the ground. His gaze must've returned to the floor after I looked away to listen to Tifa. Cloud didn't look up at us.

"Cloud."

I watched as Cloud looked up at Zack. Zack smiled at him as he carefully lifted me over to Cloud, who held out his arms to hold me and I was soon back in his arms.

"Cloud…" I said. He looked down at me, letting me know that he was listening. "I'm sorry. I worried you and the other…but mostly you..."

I then had tears falling from my eyes. Cloud lifted his hand to my face and started to wipe my tears away. Why was he so quiet all of a sudden?

"I was…so scared… The nightmare…scared me… But…it's gone…right?"

Cloud carefully leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. He lifted his head up and nodded.

"It's gone…" He said.

Cloud carefully got up and started carrying me over to my bed. I looked over to Zack's bed and saw that he had been asleep for a while since he was lightly snoring in his sleep. As we got closer to my bed, I remembered the nightmare and I was suddenly fearful of going to sleep. What if what happened to me happened again, but only worse?

"Cloud…" Cloud stopped walking and looked down at me again. "I'm scared about falling asleep again."

I saw an emotion in Cloud's eyes that could only be that of understanding. He continued walking over to my bed and laid me down on my bed. I watched as Cloud walked around to the other side of the bed and lay on the bed himself, carefully pulling me closer to him.

"I'll stay here with you." He whispered in my ear and I could feel his warm breath on my ear.

I couldn't help but smile. I think I don't have to be afraid since Cloud was here with me. I closed my eyes to sleep with the thought of Cloud keeping my company.

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ATE: Since I've just updated and all the readers reading this chap, I would like to thank you for being patient and waiting for this chap to be posted. I hope that I'll be able to update the next chap sooner so you can all know what happens next.

Please Review :)


	10. The Words You Told Me

ATE: Good news, everyone. I've updated sooner for you readers.

Declaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII

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Chapter 10

The Words You Told Me

I woke up the next morning to find myself held to a broad chest and remembered that it was Cloud. I looked down and saw the blood on his PJs and suddenly what happened last night.

"_That's right._" I thought sadly. "_I was injured and bleeding last night._"

I felt Cloud shifting and looked up to see that he was awake.

"So you're awake?" I said.

Cloud nodded, not saying a word. I suddenly felt a little sad. Why wasn't he talking?

"Why are you so quiet?" I asked.

Cloud looked down, his blue eyes seemed to show sadness…and fear…?

"Is it because you're afraid?"

Cloud looked up at me and nodded slightly.

"It's okay." I lifted my hand and placed it on his cheek. "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

His gaze fell again. This time I could see guilt. I immediately understood.

"Stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault. There was no way you could have prevented what happen last night from happening." I said. "If it wasn't for you, Zack and Tifa, I wouldn't be here."

Cloud still didn't do anything.

"Cloud. Do you remember when three months ago here Sephiroth kidnapped me and you and the others came for me? Sephiroth had struck you down and you were near death. I was scared that time that you were going to die, but after I healed you, you told me something. 'But I'm here now.' That's what you told me when told that time." I smiled. "And it's my turn to say those words to you. I am here. I'm here with you alive, breathing, and talking to you. And that's what matters."

He looked back up again, his eyes showed understanding. He took my hand off his cheek and held it in his hand. I smiled at this.

"You're still not going to say anything to me?"

Cloud seemed slightly confused.

"Come on, say something."

"…something." Cloud said.

I started to giggle, not just because of what he said, but because he was talking.

"There we go. That's the Cloud I know and love." I said.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? You have nothing to apologize for."

"But…you almost died."

I sighed, shaking my head.

"But I didn't. As I told you, I'm still alive." I looked down at the blood that was on Cloud's PJs. "But I think I need to apologize this time."

"For what?" He asked.

"For your PJs. I ruined them with my blood."

Cloud looked down at the blood that was on his PJs and understood what I meant.

"It's okay. They're just PJs."

"But I liked them. They looked so cute on you with the chibi chocobos all over them."

I heard Cloud sigh and saw that he was blushing slightly.

"But I don't really like them."

"At least it's better than you having to wear a dress." I said, referring to the time he had to dress up like a girl in the game.

His blushing got worse to the point that his face was as red as a tomato.

"I don't know how you knew that, but I see where this is going." He said. "But you have a point. I'll keep them."

"Thank you."

I hugged Cloud, who did so in return.

"You realize Zack's still in here."

I looked behind me and saw Zack in his bed still snoring lightly.

"Yeah, but he's still asleep." I said.

"No I'm not…" Zack said sleepily and continued to sleep still snoring.

I didn't know Zack talked in his sleep. It was then that I got an idea.

"Zack, this is your conscious. Repeat what I say." I tried so hard not to laugh. "I am a puppy."

"I am…a puppy…" Zack said.

I held in my laughter.

"Okay, now roll over."

Zack started to roll around in bed, the covers getting tangled and wrapped around him. Suddenly he fell off the bed and to the ground.

"Ow…"

I watched as Zack started to get up from the floor, rubbing his head. The covers were still wrapped around him and he looked confused.

"Huh? How did I end up on the floor?"

"You rolled off the bed." I said.

Zack looked over to where Cloud and I were and grinned.

"I see that Cloud decided to stay. Had any fun while I was asleep?"

"Zack!" Cloud snapped.

"Whoa there, Spiky! Glad to see that you're talking again, but I was only joking!"

"It wasn't funny, Zack." I said. "He was scared."

"Oh. I guess I'll leave you lovebirds alone and get some breakfast." He started to leave the room.

"Zack!"

But he was out the door. I looked back to Cloud and met his gaze.

"That was slightly embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like it's exactly a secret." Cloud let go of me and got out of my bed.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To get you breakfast. Anything particular you would like to drink?"

I then thought of the dream that caused me to get injured, so I knew of the perfect thing to pick.

"Coffee, please."

I saw that Cloud stared at me with a somewhat shocked look on his face.

"I thought you didn't like coffee." He said.

"But I like it now. I started drinking it when I went back home to my family." I lied.

Cloud looked at me with what seemed to be suspicion, but it seemed like he let it slide.

"How do you like your coffee?"

"Brown with sugar."

With that he left the room.

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ATE: What did you all think? Zack's moment of humor (and possibly one of many to come). Please Review :)


	11. Things We Wish Not To Do

ATE: I've finally posted chap 11. Enjoy.

Declaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. I only own Tori.

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Chapter 11

Things We Wish Not To Do

_**~(Cloud's POV)~**_

I left the room Tori and Zack shared and made my way to my room to get dressed. When I got to my room, I got out my normal attire and went into the bathroom for a quick shower. I soon got out, got dressed, and went back into my room. I picked up the shirt of my chocobo PJs and slightly grimace at the blood on it.

"_If I plan on keeping this, I'll have to wash it._" I thought.

I took the PJs (both pants and shirt) and made my way to the laundry room. Seeing that both the dryer and washing machine were empty upon checking, I placed the PJs in the washing machine. Just because I was a guy didn't mean that I couldn't do laundry. I poured in soap as the water started to fill the machine and closed the lid, leaving the room to go downstairs.

When I got downstairs I had a quick breakfast with Tifa, Zack, and the kids. But then Marlene asked the question I dreaded.

"Where's Tori?"

"She's in her room." I answered.

"Why?" Denzel asked.

I looked to Tifa, hoping that she understood what I was mentally telling her. She seemed to understand what it was that I thought and took action.

"Tori's not feeling well." Tifa said.

"Is she sick?"

"We're not exactly sure."

"Can we visit her?"

Tifa shook her head. "She's trying to get well." She looked over to Zack. "Zack?"

Zack looked up. "What is it, Tifa?"

"Do you think you could look after Marlene and Denzel in Tori's place while I work?"

"Not a problem. I'll look after them." Zack said.

"Let's go Zack." Marlene said.

"Why don't you two go on ahead. I'll catch up to you guys soon."

"Okay." They said at the same time. They soon went up the stairs to their room.

I got up from the table and got a clean plate out, placing some scrambled eggs on it.

"Are you getting breakfast for Tori?" Tifa asked.

I nodded.

"I understand that scrambled eggs would be easy for her to eat. What did she say she wanted to drink?"

"Coffee."

I saw that Tifa had a shocked look on her face.

"She wanted coffee?!"

"What's wrong with Tori drinki8ng coffee?" Zack asked.

"The thing is that Tori said that she never liked coffee and wouldn't drink it."

"She told me that she started drinking it when she got back to her world." I said.

"This is strange…" Tifa said. "Do you think it would have anything to do with last night?"

I shrugged.

"How did she want her coffee?"

"Brown with sugar."

Tifa started to prepare the coffee and soon gave it to me. I went up the stair to Tori's room.

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_**~(Tori's POV)~**_

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the door opened. I looked up to see Cloud in his normal clothes carrying a plate with scrambled eggs in one hand and the coffee in the other.

"That was fast." I said, smiling at Cloud.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at me in confusion.

"That wasn't fast. I took at least an hour just to get everything I did done." He said.

"Oh…" I looked down at my lap.

"You were probably thinking about a lot of stuff that made it seem like it didn't take long." He placed the plate and coffee on the nightstand. "I brought you breakfast."

"Thank you."

I took the plate and slowly ate the eggs, careful not to hurt my stomach. Once I finished the eggs, I placed the plate back on the nightstand and picked up the cup of coffee. As I stared into the coffee, I knew I would be making the biggest mistake in my life.

"Are you going to drink it?"

I looked up at Cloud and forced a smile on my face.

"Of course!"

He didn't seem convinced so he gave me a look that said 'prove it.'

I raised the cup to my lips and started to drink the coffee. I immediately pulled it away, trying hard not to grimace at the nasty taste of the bitter liquid.

"You don't like it, do you?"

"I-I like it!" I lied, forcing another smile.

Cloud had a suspicious look on his face, not buying what I said. I decided to down the rest of the coffee, trying to ignore the taste. I looked back up at Cloud to see that he still looked suspicious.

"Thank you for bringing me breakfast."

"Not a problem." He took the plate and cup, and went over to the door, only to stop. "Try to get some sleep Tori."

I watched as he left the room and listened as his footsteps faded as he walked on the wooden floor. I looked at my hands that laid on my laps as I immediately felt guilt.

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I know you want me to sleep…but I can't. I'm scared….that I'll have that nightmare again…and die…" I whispered.

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_**~(Cloud's POV)~**_

As I made my way downstairs I couldn't help but think about Tori. She was hesitant on drinking coffee and I was still suspicious about her drinking it. After getting downstairs I saw Tifa doing the dishes. When she saw me, she smiled.

"So how was she?" Tifa asked as I handed her the plate and cup for her to wash.

"She was able to eat, but it's the coffee I'm worried about." I replied.

"Why's that? Is something wrong?"

"I watched her. She was…so reluctant when she was drinking it. I could tell that she was trying not to grimace at the taste."

"So you believed she was lying about drinking coffee?" Tifa asked. I nodded. "Maybe you should talk to Zack about this. He might be able to help."

"I will."

I went up the stairs, making my way to Marlene and Denzel's room. Upon looking inside from the doorway, I saw the three of them draying. I looked to Zack and saw that he had a ribbon in his hair (courtesy of Marlene, I believe) and mentally laughed.

I watched as they drew pictures. I could see that Marlene was drawing Tori, Denzel was drawing Zack, and Zack had a poorly drawn chocobo on his paper. Said person looked up at the drawings Marlene and Denzel were working on and I could tell he was curious.

"What are you two drawing?" He asked.

The kids looked up and smiled.

"I'm drawing Tori, and Denzel is drawing you." Marlene said.

"Why's that?"

"Well, we already have drawings of Cloud and Tifa, so we thought of adding Tori and you to the collection. You're part of the family now."

"Part of the family, huh…"

"Your chocobo would be great to our collection." Marlene said.

"My chocobo!" Zack protested as he held his drawing to him protectively.

I again laughed mentally at Zack. But now wasn't the time for that. I needed to do what I came here to do.

"Zack." I said.

Zack and the kids looked up at me as I stood in the doorway.

"What is it, Spiky?"

"I need to talk to you. Alone."

"Oh." Zack got up from the chair he was sitting in. "I'll be back soon, kids."

I led Zack into my room, knowing that no one would be around to hear.

"What did you need to talk about?"

"It's about her." I said.

"You mean Tori, right?"

I nodded.

"What about her?"

"Remember how she wanted coffee to drink?" Zack nodded. "I watched her drink it. I could tell that she still didn't like it."

"You think she lied about it. What do you make of this?" Zack asked.

"I think she's trying to stay awake. She told me that the nightmare she had last night scared her."

"So what to you want me to do?"

"I want you to watch Tori tonight and see if she's sleeping at all. Make sure that she doesn't know that you're awake." I said. "Then tell me in the morning about it."

"Sure thing, Cloud. Well, I better get back to Marlene and Denzel!"

Zack started making his way tot the door.

"Zack."

He stopped right when he was about to touch the doorknob.

"Thank you."

He turned around and smiled.

"No problem. I'm your friend after all."

He left my room, closing the door. I went over to one of my drawers, pulling out a green materia. It was a Seal materia and I stared at it in my hand.

"_If it comes down to it, I may have to use this._" I thought. "_As much as I hate the idea, I might have to…_"

I didn't want to complete that thought. I placed the Seal materia back into the drawer and left for the laundry room. After I was done with the PJs, I would handle the deliveries.

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ATE: Again, I thank those who have been patient again. Remember, Please R&R :)


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